


Eighteen months is a long time

by Justkindawriting



Category: Sanvers - Fandom
Genre: Basketball Captain!Alex, F/F, Fluff, Military!Maggie, SO MUCH FLUFF, Well some angst too I guess, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-23
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-10-09 18:42:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10418643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justkindawriting/pseuds/Justkindawriting
Summary: Mmm, so this is my first work here.shipsnthenight over on tumblr had an AU idea for a Military Maggie and a college Basketball Captain Alex. I mean short of pretty much giving away the story that is all I got.Its unedited, except by my tired eyes. Hopefully it's good enough. Hopefully, I did it justice.





	

“I did it! I got in! I got in!” I jumped up and down in the middle of the street one afternoon after school.

“No way babe. You got in?!” Maggie pulls the piece of paper out of my hand and scans over it briefly, “my baby is going to Stanford!” 

Maggie follows suit and begins jumping up and down in sync with me. “I am so unbelievably proud of you. You have no idea,” she states before pulling me into a kiss.

I rest my forehead against hers keeping my eyes closed for a moment longer than the kiss lasted, “I wish you were coming with me.”

“I might change my mind, I don’t think I will, but I might,” Maggie cups my cheeks in her hands looking up at me.

“You know that I’ll support your decision, whichever it might be,” I lean into one of her hands, pulling her into me. “I just wish it were to stay.”

Maggie laughs and melts into my hug. She squeezes me a little tighter than usual and takes a step back gripping my waist, “how about you go tell Kara and I’ll get the rest of the gang together to celebrate. Movie night? Nah game night! We have to remind those guys how smart my beautiful Stanford girl is.”

4 years later 

1293 days. One thousand. Two Hundred. Ninety-three. Days. That’s how many days it has been since Maggie left for bootcamp. That’s how many days she’s belonged to the US Government. I guess technically she’s been theirs since she turned 18 and enlisted.

It’s been 471 days since I last got to see her. I guess technically just touch her, because I get to see her whenever we get the chance to Skype, which isn’t very often, but every moment counts.

I’d be lying if I said that being with someone who is in the Army isn’t hard. It is literally the hardest thing I’ve ever done and I have managed to make the Dean’s list every single semester since I’ve started school. That is an accomplishment in itself since the majority of this last year has been multiple late nights to get the chance to talk to Maggie.

Her first deployment was the beginning of my Sophomore year. 10 months. Honestly, until now, those were the longest, most painful, loneliest 10 months of my life. I mean sure, I was on the basketball team and I was drowning in school work. And sure I had Kara, Winn, and James. But that all pales in comparison to having your best friend, your partner in crime, your endgame by your side.

There were endless nights where I would make Kara come over and I would just cry in her arms until I fell asleep. There were days where getting out of bed and going to class just didn’t seem worth it. But I pushed through and the nights I got to talk to her, when I got to see that stunning face of hers, were worth every single moment of pain.

There were a lot of why can't you just be here and I hate the US Government. Her bunkmate would always laugh when I said that. But Maggie loved it, she loved the experience, she loved being part of something important. She loved serving her country. There was no way I couldn’t support her indefinitely.

“I can’t last another three months, this deployment is literally going to kill me,” I sigh falling into Kara’s couch a glass of scotch in my hand.

“You’ve made it fifteen months already Alex, I’m sure the next three will fly by without a thought,” James says from across the room. 

“Yeah, just think about how great the reunion will be,” Winn winks playfully and moves his eyebrows up and down suggestively

“Ew Winn, that is my sister. I don’t want to know about that part of her life,” Kara states slipping into the couch next to me with a plate full of potstickers.

I laugh and salute my glass up towards Winn in agreeance. I mean, it will be an amazing reunion. Eighteen months without sex is a long time for anyone. 

“At least you have the end of the season to look forward to,” James begins while walking over to the couch across from Kara and I. “You guys are doing pretty phenomenally, and you’ve made playoffs. Way to lead the team in a great season, miss captain Danvers.”

“I just wish Maggie were here to see it. She hasn’t seen any of the games since I became captain. Clearly since she’s been in fucking Syria for fifteen goddamn months,” I drain the scotch from the glass in my hand and drop the glass on the table next to me. “What if she doesn’t love me when she gets back? I mean it’s a long time to love someone when you’re 7,300 miles away.”

“Alex, don’t be ridiculous. You know Maggie is going to love you just as much, if not more than she did when she left. She is your soulmate, I am sure of it,” Kara wraps her arm around my shoulders and gives me a squeeze before resting her head on my shoulder.

“I should probably get back home. Maggie is supposed to be calling me in,” I look at the watch on my wrist, “43 minutes. We haven’t seen each other in over a week.”

I give everyone hugs on my way out and take the long way towards the apartment complex. I know that if I sit at home in front of my computer the 30 minutes I have to wait will feel like a lifetime. Everything already feels like a lifetime though, so maybe it wouldn’t even matter at all.

If you were to tell me 5 years ago, that this is where I would end up, I don’t know if I would have believed you. I mean, I knew Maggie wanted to join the Army, it’s all she ever talked about. Well, not really all, but she never thought about going to college, she just always wanted to serve her country. I would have felt better if she did it at like the DMV or somewhere safe where she didn’t but her life on the line every day, but she is my hero for that.

There is no way I could ever oppose her decision. What she does is incredible, and sure I stress and worry every single day of my life, but she is doing what she has always wanted. She is doing what she loves, and at the end of the day the love and adoration I have for her outweighs any opposition I could have.

I change into a pair of pajama pants and toss on my Army girlfriend hoodie Maggie bought me the day she enlisted. It was such a dorky way of telling me, but I’ve worn it so much that the lettering is peeling off and there are holes in the sleeves. It’s been my support system. Other than the gang. They help immensely. I toss my hair up in a messy bun and take my contacts out before slipping into bed and logging into Skype.

She ringing of the Skype call jolts me awake and I answer quickly before it disconnects. The screen is black for a second before I hear Maggie’s voice crackle through, “Hey there sleepyhead.”

If it were possible for your face to crack in half from smiling mine would be in two separate pieces. I wipe a tear from the corner of my eye, “I’m sorry it’s later than I expected. Drills ran longer than planned this morning. Did I wake you up?”

“No, no, no, no, I was just waiting for you,” I lie poorly situating myself into a better sitting position. I look at the clock in the corner of my laptop screen 10:48pm.

“You know you’re terrible at lying, babe.” She laughs and my god is it music to my ears.

“I might have dozed off, I had an early practice and a day full of classes. Then had a breakdown and had to collect the superfriends to get me out of my funk. But it’s good to see you. It’s great to hear your voice. God, I miss you so much Mags.” I run my finger over the picture of her face.

“You could have left me a message, we could have rescheduled, I know you’ve got a lot on your plate right now sweetheart,” her face turns into a frown.

“I haven’t gotten to see your face in over a week Maggie. I wouldn’t have rescheduled this. I would have left practice early for this.”  
Maggie’s face breaks into a giant smile, her dimples just as adorable as I always remember them being. I can’t help but to just stare and marvel at how stunning she is. I cannot wait until she’s sitting in front of me and I can kiss her whenever I want.

“What’s going on in that brilliant brain of yours?”

“Just thinking about how beautiful you are,” I bite my lip and fix my glasses to distract the blush growing on my cheeks. 6 years later and I still get butterflies for her.

“Baby, that is so gay,” Maggie says and I hear her bunkmate laugh in the background and a hum of agreeance. 

“This coming from the girl who bought me this hoodie,” I bring the camera of the laptop closer to my chest and show her the logo.

“I wouldn’t be upset if there wasn’t a shirt there,” I see something fly across the screen and Jen - Maggie’s bunkmate yell gross.

“You’re just going to have to wait another three months to see my boobs. Don’t worry Jen, there won’t be anything happening.”

Maggie pouts and it is a pout I’ve been dying to kiss since the moment she stepped on that airplane 472 days ago.

“Tell me about your day. Tell me about basketball, miss captain.”

“We’re 31-4, The last game of the season is Monday. We’ve made playoffs, but I don’t know what the schedule is like for that just yet. We should know within the week when the first game will be. But my day was long. Practice this morning was long, classes felt like they lasted forever. I think I just wanted it to be tonight so I could get to talk to you, but it was moving at molasses speed. What’s your day look like?”

“I’m sorry your day was moving so slow baby. I am so proud of you leading the team to the playoffs! You amaze me every single day Alexandra Danvers. I got up about 3 hours ago for PT. Showered, ate, and now I’m here. I’ve got some trainings to do later in the day, but that looks to be about it. It’ll be the first easy day in a while. I’m not leaving base either, so you can worry a little less about that.”

“I’m always gonna worry,” I say without a thought.

“I know you are. I miss you so much Alex.”

“Only three more months. James says that since we’ve made it fifteen, that these last three should be a breeze”

“It’ll go faster than we know it. Are you still gonna love me after being apart for eighteen months?”

“Maggie.”

“A girl can wonder, can’t she?”

“I asked the guys that question literally 2 hours ago. They told me I was crazy,” Maggie laughs again and you can hear Jen in the background making gagging noises.

“You’d think after the countless Skype calls we’ve had, she would be less disgusted by our love for each other,” Jen peaks into the screen for a brief moment.

“I just wish my boyfriend loved me enough to talk to me as regularly as you two talk,” she says before leaving the screen.

“You look really fucking cute in those glasses,” Maggie winks and blows a kiss at me.

“You’ve seen me in glasses a million times!”

“Yeah, but you still look cute. You’ll always look cute in them.”

We just sit there for a few minutes, staring at each other on the screen. “I wish you would have gotten to see me play this season. It’s probably the best season I’ve ever had.”

“Maybe I can get Kara to have me on Skype for the game. You think she would do that?”

“I don’t see why she wouldn’t do that. I’ll ask her and as soon as I know about it I can email you.”

“That sounds perfect,” I let out a yawn and try my hardest to hide it from Maggie.

“Are you tired?”

“No,” I lie again trying to stifle another yawn.

“You’re such a bad liar Al,” she smiles and tilts her head to the side. “ What do you have going on tomorrow?”

“I have practice at 8. Then I don’t have class until 5.”

“It’s almost midnight there, you should get some sleep so you’re ready for practice,” I just shake my head tears welling up in my eyes.

“I’m not ready to say goodnight yet. Can we talk for like five more minutes?”

“Of course baby girl. I'm not going anywhere,” Maggie sighs laying down on her bunk. “Lay down, and I'll tell you a story.”

I follow her directions and slide down into bed setting the laptop on untouched side. I let myself relax and adjust the screen so I can see her better.

“Okay, I'm all comfy.”

She smiles and clears her throat adjusting her phone in her hand. “Once upon a time there was this stunning princess,” I snort and she squints her eyes at me.

“No fairytales baby. Tell me about what we're gonna do when you finally get home.”

“I'm gonna lock us in your apartment and we're not going to leave for a week.”

“That seems incredibly unrealistic Mags.”

“How about we go shopping and stock up on a bunch of crappy snacks and actual real food since I know you won't go for us only eating garbage. And we can lay in bed and watch all the bad reality TV shows that I've missed. And we can cuddle and make out and make love and forget that anyone other than us exists for a few days. Then when we've had enough of being holed up in your apartment we can go out. We can go see that movie you've been talking about that comes out when I get home. Or we can go to that natural history museum you've been talking about going to for the last eight months. Or we can just have a super friends hang out, play games, drink beer, forget about the military and grad school.”

“I'm gonna marry you one day Maggie Sawyer,” I mumble letting the sleep take over me.

“I'm gonna marry you one day too Alex Danvers. And that day is going to be the best day of my life.”

“I love you to the moon and back babe.”

“I love you more than all the stars in the sky Al. Get some sleep. I'll let you know what Kara says about Skyping me during the game tomorrow. Goodnight princess.”

“Have a good day love. Please stay safe.”

“Always.”

We stay connected a little while longer. Neither one of us really wanting to say goodnight, or goodbye for that. The last thing I remember hearing was a soft I love you beautiful and then the Skype call ending.

I woke up the next morning to a black screen on my laptop and a screeching alarm clock on the other side of me. Groaning, I roll over and silence the alarm before I decide it belongs across the room. I roll back over and lay on my back, staring at the ceiling only 87 more days I tell myself. 87 days.

The team was already warming up when I walked in. The coach looked at me with empathetic eyes nodding me over towards the rest of the girls to begin warming up. I give them all a half assed apology and it seems like they understand what’s going on. I mean, everyone here knows about Maggie and I. The majority of the team has met her and hung out with her, so they understand my down days.

“Don’t worry about it Alex,” Stef says while stretching her quads out. “You’ve been pretty up these last couple days, you’re allowed to have one where you’re not feeling it all.”

“I just have to stay focused on this if I’m gonna make sure that we win this last game,” I tell them trying my hardest to sound certain about getting the win in the bag.

Getting out of my mind and falling into the basketball world is the pick me up that I needed this morning. When practice ended I was feeling exponentially better than I had been a couple hours previous. Kara asked if I wanted to meet up for lunch since neither of us had classes until later in the day.

Walking into the campus deli I am greeted by an overly excited Kara. She jumps out of her chair and envelops me in a huge hug and almost feels like it’s going to crush me, “Ow, ow, owww Kara too much, too much!”

She jumps back and pulls her hands into herself, “I’m sorry, I need to keep working on those things.” She sits back down in her chair and straightens her glasses out before gesturing for me to obviously take the seat across from her. “I got an email from Maggie this morning! She asked me if I would mind Skyping her so she could watch your last game.”

“Yeah, she mentioned something about asking you last night when we were talking,” I play with the napkin under the glass of water, “I just wish she were going to be here in person.”

“I think it will be cool to have he watch you like that! It would be cooler if she were here, but you know it’s only a matter of time before she is back.” Kara dives into the bag of breadsticks sitting on the table between us.  
“Only 87 more days. Not like I’m counting or anything. I’m sure if I knew when her flight was I’d probably be counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds.”

“I’d say you sound crazy, but I know that you miss her.”

“You’re totally cool with video chatting with her so she can see it, right? You’re not just saying it's alright and you’re just going to like - hate me forever because of it.”

“Alex, there is no way I could hate you forever! You know I’m cool with it. Maggie is practically a sister to me. I mean, she will be one day, right?”

I can’t help but to blush and smile at that comment. Kara has always been so open and loving of Maggie and I. She started referring to Maggie as her sister about a year and a half after we started dating. I thought Maggie was going to be weirded out about it, but she loved it. She loved feeling like she had a family to belong to since hers weren’t around.

My smile grows bigger when I think of Maggie actually being Kara’s sister-in-law one day. Thinking about being her wife, it makes me hate Syria and the Army a little less. But, I still hate them. I still hate them alot.

The rest of the week moved by at an agonizing pace. Labs seemed to last forever. Lectures seemed to last even longer. Practice was the only time of the day that actually seemed to move at any quick pace and we haven’t had any practice since Friday night.

I got an email from Maggie saying that she was excited to see me play. She said that she was gonna get her bunkmate and a couple other people together to cheer me on from halfway across the world. She told me that when she gets back she should be back for a while. A couple years if she was lucky, but with the Army you can never be to certain of that. She ended the e-mail with 81 days until I get to kiss that stupid face of yours. 81 days until I get to have you in my arms. Maggie Danvers. I don’t know if I like the sound of that. Alexandra Sawyer does sound good though. I love you babe. Only 81 more days!

I read the e-mail more times than I am willing to admit. But, who cares. Trying to pass these last couple months will make me crazy, but c’est la vie. Every minute will be better when she finally comes home.

Walking into the locker room is such a bittersweet feeling. I know that I’ll be back in it for when we’re in the playoffs, but there is something about it being the last game of the actual season that makes me feel nostalgic. I stand in the middle of the locker room, the rest of the team filtering in slowly. Looking around at everyone, I smile. I smile because of how incredible the team has done as a whole this season and I smile because this is it. This is the last conference game I’ll have as a college senior.

“Hey guys!” I try to get everyone’s attention and within a couple minutes the room falls silent and everyone is looking at me. “I just wanted to say thanks, and that I am so proud to be the captain of this team. You’ve all crushed it this season and I couldn’t have asked for a better team to lead to victory. I’m sad that this is the last game, but we’re going to go out there and we are going to kick ass!”

The team lets out a loud cheer and the radio in the locker room starts playing our pregame playlist. I drop my duffle bag down on the bench in front of my cubby and begin changing out of my dress slacks. As I’m pulling on my compression shorts, my phone begins ringing and Maggie’s face pops up on the screen. I run out of the locker room into the hallway and answer the call.

“Hey. Is everything alright? Why are you calling, you usually only call when something big happens? Are you okay?”

 

“Yes, I am fine. I just wanted to call you and wish you luck before you went out there and played. I wasn’t sure if you were going to see Kara before she called me and I didn’t want to miss talking to you before your last game.”

“I’m glad I get to hear your voice before I go out there. I’m nervous. But like and excited nervous. Like I have to poop, but I don’t have to poop. But like I’m - like I’m about to go play my first ever college game, but I’m not. My nerves are just going crazy.”

“You’re gonna kill it out there Captain Danvers! Go out there and score me 100 points!”

“That will be next to impossible, but I’ll make my first 3 pointer for you. Watch for it. I’ll give a signal to Kara.”

“I’ll be waiting. Go out there and make me proud babe! I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The phone clicked off and I make my way back into the locker room to finish getting ready for the game. True to my word I point at Kara before I score my first 3 pointer of the game. While falling back into my position I blow a kiss towards an outstretched arm from Kara.

There wasn’t a chance for the other team. From the second us girls stepped on the court we were unstoppable. Free throw after free throw. Layup after layup. It was almost like the opposing team’s defence took the night off. At halftime we were up by almost 40 points. 

It almost felt like we should have started celebrating the second we walked back into the locker room, but we all knew better. We knew that if we were to let our guard down we would back ourselves into a corner and would have a hard time trying to get out.  
The final score ended up being 95-70. They picked it up the second half, but we were prepared for them. The whole gym went crazy with the win. Fans cheering. Streamers and confetti flying all over the place. After the celebration died down they asked for the senior girls to join them on the court.

Myself and two other girls walked out to center court and stood next to our coach. She placed a metal around each of our necks, “I want to give a big thank you to all of you who came out to support us tonight. It means so much to our team. It means even more to these three who have given hours upon hours of their days to become some of the best basketball players Stanford has ever seen.

“Alex, Stef and Kathryn you three have shows incredible sportsmanship these last four years and I want to thank each of you from the bottom of my heart for making me proud. I have watched these three girls grow into beautiful women. I don’t know how we’re going to make it through without you.”

She walks over to Kathryn first, shaking her hand and then pulling her into a hug. She follows suit with Stef. When she makes her way over to me she places her hand out in front of herself and I extend mine to shake hers. Her smile grows wider on her face as she looks over my shoulder and nods her head in that direction. Slowly the entire gym erupts into a loud applause.

I look over my shoulder at what she is nodding at and what the rest of the people are clapping for. Not 50 feet in front of me is my hero. The one person I have waited 478 days to see. Dressed in full camo, donning that brilliant white smile of hers. My eyes go wide and my heart feels like it is in my throat. I bring my hand over my mouth and before I know it my body has myself in a full sprint towards her.

The whole world faded. No one other than her and I existed in that moment. Jumping into someone’s arms has never been something I am fond of. But I’ll be damned if I don’t cling to this girl like a koala. I wrap my arms around her neck and my legs around her torso and hug her like it has been a year and a half since I have seen her. I feel hot tears drip onto my cheeks. I pull my head off her shoulder and look at her.

Brown eyes glistening with unshed tears. I lean in and kiss her. I kiss her harder than I have ever in my entire life. I unwrap my legs from around her and find their home on the ground. I kiss her again, less hard than the first time. More soft and passionate than I ever remember our kisses being. I place both of my hands on the side of her face and look down at her. I wipe a stray tear that escaped off the bulb of her cheek and just stare into her eyes for a few moments.

“You’re here. How are you here?”

“I found out two weeks ago that we were coming home earlier than expected,” she smiles and leans her head into one of my hands.  
“And it just so happened to be that you were coming home today?”

“No, I had to pull some strings to get them to let me leave a handful of days prior. It helps when you’re higher in rank.”

“How?”

“How what?”

“H- how are you here?”

“Modern technology and airplanes babe.” I push her shoulder playfully and roll my eyes at her. “The e-mail I sent to Kara explained everything. The early leave, coming here to surprise you, and this,” Maggie reaches into her pocket, taking a step back. She keeps her hand inside her pocket and motions for someone to bring her the microphone.

My heart leaps into my throat again and I watch carefully as she begins to talk.

“My whole life I have been looking for someone like you. It wasn’t until I met you that I even knew I was looking for someone like you. But then you became part of me. You became the person I thought of before I feel asleep. The person I thought of right when I woke up. You have supported me endlessly on this journey. You’ve stuck around through the hard times. Through basic training and deployments. You have loved me even at the toughest times. I can’t think of anyone in this world that I would want to be with. I can’t think of anyone in this world I would want to grow old with. Alexandra Danvers, will you have me? Forever? Until our last breaths?”

Someone off in the distance yells, “Just say it!”

Maggie gets down on one knee and finally pulls out the box in her pocket, removing the ring gently from the case, “Alex, will you marry me?”

Without even thinking about it I begin nodding. I place my left hand in front of me and just as the ring hits the base of my finger I am pulling Maggie up into me and kissing her. Kissing her as if my life depended on it. I nod again and whisper against her lips, “yes, yes, yes, yes, yes a thousand times yes.”

The gym erupts into another round of applause this time hoots and hollers added in.

“Looks like we’re going to have to get you an Army Wife hoodie now,” Maggie jokes before kissing me again.

Fin.

**Author's Note:**

> I had to watch military members coming home so that I could do the end of this justice. Basically a giant cry fest.


End file.
